San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks: Seattle Grades, Notes and Quotes

The Seattle Seahawks earned a definitive 29-13 win Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers to climb to 5-5 in the NFC West and essentially save their season.

Quarterback Russell Wilson and rookie wide receiver Tyler Lockett connected twice for touchdowns against a soft 49ers defense, but the day belonged to undrafted rookie running back Thomas Rawls on offense.

Rawls consistently overpowered and sliced through the San Francisco defense in place of an injured Marshawn Lynch, finishing with 209 yards on 30 carries with one rushing touchdown and adding another score through the air.

It was evident Rawls was the focal point of Seattle's game plan from the beginning of the contest.

Seattle jumped out to an early 13-0 lead in the first quarter after two consecutive touchdown drives that showed an aggressive side of the Seahawks offense that has been missing in recent games.

Wilson looked confident delivering a 24-yard touchdown strike to Lockett, who found a soft spot in the 49ers secondary for his first touchdown of the game. Rawls then showed power on a two-yard touchdown run on the following drive, pushing past the goal line on a second effort after being met at the line of scrimmage.

Seattle continued its dominant first-half performance with Lockett's second touchdown catch of the day on an 11-yard pass from Wilson halfway through the second quarter, helping give the Seahawks a 20-0 lead.  

San Francisco answered with a nice nine-play touchdown drive of its own to end the first half, but it was the only complete drive the 49ers offense was able to put together all day.

Rawls and the Seahawks offense was able to salt away the rest of the game on the back of Rawls' 6.9 yards-per-carry average.

Seattle's controlling victory against the 49ers at home was the Seahawks' most complete win of the season.

Seattle Position Grades

John Froschauer/Associated Press

Quarterback: B+

Russell Wilson was efficient against the 49ers, missing only five passes and throwing for 260 yards and three touchdowns on the day.

He also reminded us of how lethal he can be out of the pocket. On multiple plays, Wilson improvised with his legs to keep broken plays alive.

Wilson misses an "A" mark only because he missed a couple of wide-open receivers.

Running Backs: A+

Thomas Rawls did something on Sunday that Marshawn Lynch hasn't ever done as a Seahawk—he reached 200 yards rushing in a game.

Rawls was a consistent force the 49ers failed to contain. His historic performance is the main storyline from this game.

Wide Receivers: B+

Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett were the only receivers the Seahawks needed to beat the 49ers. Baldwin was a short threat underneath, while Lockett emerged as more of a vertical weapon for the Seahawks offense. 

Neither posted particularly impressive stat lines, but they came up big in important spots.

Tight Ends: B

Jimmy Graham only caught three passes for 39 yards, but it was good to see him haul in catchable passes, unlike last week.

Offensive Line: B

Seattle's front five opened consistent holes for Rawls to carve the 49ers defense, but Russell Wilson's legs made the line look better than it was in pass protection. The unit allowed two sacks on Wilson.

Defensive Line: A

Cliff Avril tallied two sacks on Blaine Gabbert, and the 49ers were held to 59 total rushing yards. It was a good day for Seattle's front four. 

Linebackers: B+

K.J. Wright forced a fumble, but he missed an easy interception. Mike Morgan, filling in for the injured Bruce Irvin, finished with four combined tackles. There's not much to complain about with this group.  

Defensive Backs: B

Seattle's secondary was soft on San Francisco's second-quarter touchdown drive, but that was more because of coaching than anything. Richard Sherman should've intercepted a Gabbert pass that was well overthrown. Overall, the Legion of Boom was solid on Sunday. 

Special Teams: C

Kicker Steven Hauschka whiffed on two extra-point attempts and Seattle only had one punt-return yard on the day. The unit had a forgettable day.

Coaching: A

Seattle's game plan worked from the beginning and didn't need to be changed during the course of the contest, which is a testament to the coaching staff.

It was good to see head coach Pete Carroll instill an aggressive game plan on both sides of the ball and have success with it.  

Seahawks' Youth Shines

John Froschauer/Associated Press

Football is a team sport, but Thomas Rawls was a superstar individual on the field Sunday. 

Rawls' 209 rushing yards is a nice-looking stat, but it doesn't paint the whole picture of how dominant Rawls was on the field. Seattle consistently turned to Rawls in short-yardage situations, converting nearly every time. 

When he wasn't juking San Francisco defenders, Rawls was running them over. 

Not even Marshawn Lynch has reached 200 yards rushing in a game as a Seahawk—the last player to do it was Shaun Alexander in 2001. 

Rawls' dominant rushing performance won't be soon forgotten. 

But he wasn't the only rookie to make a difference for the Seahawks.

Receiver Tyler Lockett found the end zone twice and looked as if he is finding a consistent role in the Seattle offense as a vertical threat.

Lockett only caught four passes for 48 yards, but the fact that he caught a red-zone touchdown has to be extremely encouraging for the Seahawks and their fans going forward. 

Russell Wilson: 'We Really Weren't That Far Off'

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

After the game, Russell Wilson was quoted by Seahawks.com saying, "We really weren't that far off. The biggest thing is staying on course, on schedule."

Wilson is of course talking about the current state of the 2015 season.

Something like this is easy to say after beating a team as bad as the San Francisco 49ers. Sunday's dominant win against the 49ers is an encouraging step for the rest of the season, but the team needs to remember it will have to show up against good opponents down the stretch.

Seattle still hasn't shown it can do that this season. The Seahawks face two good opponents in the next two consecutive weeks—the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings. 

If the Seahawks can come out with wins against those two teams, then it's safe to say Seattle truly wasn't that far off from being its more familiar, dominant self.

But until then, Seattle should enjoy Sunday's big win against the rival 49ers.